Times of Oman

OMR62 million Al Araimi Boulevard to open in 2018

- A E JAMES

MUSCAT: Oman’s largest family entertainm­ent centre – Al Araimi Boulevard – will be ready in September, 2018.

The new shopping mall, which is coming up in an area of 147,000 square metres at Al Khoud, will have 250 shops, ten modern cinema halls, 20 diversifie­d restaurant­s and 3,000 car parking space, Sheikh Raid Abdullah Ali Al Araimi, vice-chairman of Al Raid Group, told journalist­s on the sidelines of a field visit.

Developed by Al Raid Group in cooperatio­n with Design Internatio­nal and Kaosys, the mall has a total lease area of 70,500 square metres. As much as 40 per cent of the work on the mega mall is complete now and the total investment for the project is estimated at OMR62 million.

“We will have the largest food court ever-built in Oman, with a capacity to accommodat­e more than 1,000 people in 20 diversifie­d restaurant­s,” added Sheikh Al Araimi. “We will also have an outdoor area with beautiful landscape, which allows signature restaurant­s to open their outlets.”

Sheikh Al Araimi highlighte­d that constructi­on work has begun in July, 2016 and the work is progressin­g as per the plan. “Works go as scheduled, and we look forward to the future with all optimism for more new projects that contribute to the march of developmen­t in Oman”, he added.

Referring to the reason for se- lecting Al Khoud for building the mall, Sheikh Al Araimi said that the concentrat­ion of population is high in the area and 50 per cent of the people are below 30 years.

Innovative vision

The project is based on Al Raid Group’s innovative vision to bring to Oman a value addition to the sector of shopping and entertainm­ent. With completion, the mall will host many internatio­nal brands and world class facilities for entertainm­ent to make the shopping experience a unique one.

For example, the entertainm­ent area stretches over 6,000sqm and provided with modern 10 screencine­mas, the largest food court hosting 20 restaurant­s.

The mall will have two floors of retail space, with a rooftop parking for accommodat­ing 3,000 vehicles. According to the recom- mendations of Design Internatio­nal, the new mall will establish for a new concept of shopping based on deep understand­ing for client needs.

The project adopts the latest technologi­es. To name a few, there will be a special applicatio­n for the mall that can be used through all smart phones. Using this applicatio­n, the shoppers can know where is the available parking lots, reserve tables at the restaurant, make orders, receive smart bills and know the latest offers.

Moreover, the mall is supported with many other services, such as the hand free shopping, gift wrapping and helping at parking, to make sure the shoppers fell comfortabl­e and enjoy their experience.

The glass dome that is supported with solar panels lets the day light inside and - at the same time- re-uses the solar energy as a sustainabl­e source of power. Apart from the clean energy, the mall is to adopt recycling systems and eco-operating systems to be the first environmen­t-friendly mall in Oman. The developer did not spare effort to offer the latest trends and attitudes of shopping all over the world to the shoppers. The mall has been exceptiona­lly designed to be the best go-gathering for individual­s and families.

Al Raid Group was founded in 1974 with its founder Sheikh Abdullah bin Ali al Araimi whose vision is to develop real estate projects of internatio­nal standards to support the economic developmen­t in Oman.

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 ??  ?? Sheikh Raid Abdullah Ali Al Araimi, vice-chairman of Al Raid Group
Sheikh Raid Abdullah Ali Al Araimi, vice-chairman of Al Raid Group

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